The present invention relates to a processing method and a processing apparatus for processing a plurality of files stored on a storage medium so that any of the data items displayed in menu form may be selected.
There already exist information processing apparatuses furnished with drives for accommodating a plurality of types of storage media. For example, conventional personal computers are typically equipped with a built-in hard disc drive and an optical disc drive, the latter allowing an optical disc to be loaded therein removably. In such a setup, data stored on the optical disc can be recorded (i.e., copied) to the hard disc.
The optical disc typically contains a plurality of files in its folder. A user may select one or a plurality of desired files from within the folder for subsequent copying. The files to be copied are usually selected one at a time by the user.
If the user wants to select most of the files in the folder, selecting the desired files one at a time can be a time-consuming chore. Where almost all files are to be selected, it is more convenient if all files are initially selected and the few unnecessary files are made unselected thereafter. If during a selection process the user wants to cancel the choices made so far and to perform another selection process from the beginning, it is more convenient if all files are made unselected collectively prior to the new selection.
Each selected file is the file that is drawing the user's highest attention at that point in time. In that sense, the selected file should preferably be displayed in the location that is most visible from the user's point of view.